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Acid Rain Has Greater Impact on Coastal Ocean WatersNews story originally written on September 7, 2007

Acid rain is what happens when some types of air pollution is washed out of the sky by rain. Power plants, factories, farms, houses, and cars all put pollution into the atmosphere. Sometimes, this pollution mixes with water in the air to form acids; then when it rains or snows, the acid falls onto land or into water on the Earth.

Some scientists have learned that when acid rain falls into the oceans, it damages the coastal areas of the ocean more then the rest of the ocean.

When coastal areas become more acidic, marine animals such as sea urchins, corals, and certain types of planktons have a hard time creating exoskeletons (their hard outer shells). Because these animals are an important food source for other animals in the ocean, if they don't survive the food chain of the entire ocean ecosystem could be affected.

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